NEWPORT BEACH : Study Urged on Plan for Island Station

A residents group is questioning spending $1 million for a new fire station on Balboa Island and calling on city officials to order an independent study to see whether such a station is needed.

The group’s efforts come late in the planning stages for the city’s newest station and threaten the efforts of dozens of fellow island residents who have long lobbied for a station. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year, with operation by January, 1994.

“Our group is not opposed or (in favor of) the design, or opposed or (in favor of) the fire station,” said Bob McCaffrey, head of Concerned Citizens of Balboa Island. “This is not an issue that has been looked into. . . . I don’t think the proper homework’s been done.”

The group wants the city to hire an outside consultant to determine whether the city’s plan to build a new station from scratch is more efficient than remodeling the current one or whether a new station elsewhere, such as in Corona del Mar, would be more efficient than one on the island, McCaffrey said.

Two other homeowner groups have been working with the city for about two years on plans for the island station. Representatives of those groups could not be reached Thursday for comment.

The influence of those groups was evident last month, when Fire Chief Timothy D. Riley agreed to scrap preliminary plans for the station and replace them with designs reviewed by members of the community.

Residents have previously said they want a station that fits well architecturally in their quaint community, specifically a Mediterranean or mission-style building, instead of a bulky facility with an industrial look, such as the city first proposed.

The new building, planned for Marine Avenue, would replace a 1931 building in the island’s main commercial district. Fire officials have said a new building is needed because the existing one is too small to house modern fire equipment.

McCaffrey’s group, which has about a dozen members--compared to the hundreds of island residents who have been indirectly involved with the design and relocation of the new station--plans to start a mail campaign this week. The group has targeted about 600 people who live or do business in the city.